Yes, we love tearing devices apart, but the TV-shattering, Wii Remote-related accidents around the office are getting out of hand. It's time to explore alternative remote options, and what better place to start than the Wii U?

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There is nothing initially surprising as we get our first glimpse of the U. The optical drive and heat sink dominate the majority of the console's internal Wii-al estate, and are considerably beefier than those found in the Nintendo Wii.

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The device is pretty simple so far, but has no shortage of screws. There's no adhesive holding the U together, but were it not for our Magnetic Project Mat, all of these screws could get out of hand. So far we have encountered both Phillips and Tri-wing screws, nothing our 64 Bit Driver Kit can't handle.

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Hmmm… This optical drive feels really heavy. It appears much larger than most optical drives, so we take it to the scales!

424.2 grams! That means that the optical drive accounts for nearly a third of the 1.5-kg device.

We suspect that the large optical drive may be a by-product of the larger motherboard underneath. A case expansive enough to accommodate the motherboard leaves some extra room for a bigger optical drive.

Possible benefits to using a clunkier disc-reader could be reduced cost, quieter operation, or improved longevity over a slimmer drive.

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Unlike other game consoles with strict space requirements, the antennas in the Wii U have a much more relaxed layout and are held in place with tape.

Nintendo obviously wasn't concerned with making the smallest box possible, so they didn't worry about rigidly packing relatively small antenna cables in designated slots as we've seen in handheld consoles such as the 3Ds and the PS Vita.

I'd just like to point out that the LCD screen on the gamepad isn't fused to the digitizer like it says above. It is actually attached with an adhesive strip that can be removed easily with a spudger.

My gamepad was dropped and the LCD screen shattered, but the digitizer was fine. So, I was able to order a new LCD screen (from eBay), tear down the gamepad, separate the broken LCD from the digitizer, reattach the new screen to the digitizer (using the existing adhesive strips) and it works like brand new.

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Bonus Teardown Time! Break out the champagne and fireworks, it's party time. Why stop the teardown when we have another new piece of hardware at our disposal? Wasting no time, we crack into the Wii U GamePad controller, meant to supplement or replace the original TV slayers.

A readily available Phillips #00 screwdriver grants us access to the Wii-chargeable battery.

The 3.7 V, 1500 mAh rechargeable battery is only good for about 3-5 hours of gameplay, but is easily charged using the included external wall charger.

Good news for those looking to extend their playtime—there's plenty of room in the battery compartment for an upgraded pack.

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Nintendo. You're silly. Trying to hide your screws from us? Though clever, the screws are still hiding in plain sight.

A deca-plethora of hidden and recessed Tri-wing screws are inevitably no match for our trusty tools. Some of the screws are very recessed, forcing us to use the included 4 mm nut driver attachment to extend the length of our 54 Bit Driver. It works perfectly, and we are in!

Hey @captainsnowball please leave teardowns as they are. They’re more a historical archive of an event than a repair manual. If you click the link to the 54-bit driver, it will automatically take you to the 64 bit driver kit.

The LCD and Digitizer are definitely not fused. There is a layer of rubbery adhesive around the outside edge of them, holding them together, but no heat was even required to remove it. Source: Just fixed one my kid broke.

Ok so I took my wii u gamepad apart to fix the screen my daughter broke. However when I put it back together the wii u battery decided it didn't work anymore I tried everything I could finally I decided it could just be the battery so I ordered a new battery but sadly it is still not working please help I'm trying to fix it for my kids before Christmas they love the wii u.